T-Time Weekly News Update for the Week of July 22nd-28th 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

Celebs Gone Wild:

Batman’s The Dark Knight has been tearing up the headlines this past week. After grossing over $155.3M in its opening weekend, the smash blockbuster is set to take in over $300M after only 10 days in release breaking the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest record and possibly soon surpassing one of T-Time’s all-time favorites Titanic for biggest box office gross. Batman’s star, Christian Bale, seems to have taken his roles as the caped crusader and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho a little too close to heart. He was arrested (but only after being allowed to go to his movie premiere) in his native London for allegedly assaulting his mom and sister. But there’s more to this story…it seems that you can get arrested in England for Class 4 or Class 5 verbal assault, the family has a shady relationship and the mom trash-talked his wife. I think it’s much ado about nothing. And not to be forgotten Heath Ledger’s dad ok’d the release of some funds to finish opening a bar called “Five Leaves” in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that Heath was a partner in before his death.

Celebs love to be bad…they’re rich and bored so breaking the law is the next best thing! Shia LaBeouf, of Transformers and Indiana Jones fame, has been busted by the cops several times for pretty misdemeanor things. But this past Sunday he went a little too far when he drove drunk, hit another car and flipped his pickup truck. The woman in the other car and the passenger riding with LaBeouf suffered minor injuries, but Shia is getting serious hand surgery and is out of commission for 1 month (Transformers 2 now has to halt or reorganize production). Just when Anne Hathaway thought she was done with her shady ex-boyfriend the FBI confiscated her personal diary to get more incriminating evidence against the Italian con artist. I bet she’ll have to testify against him in court.

Celeb Grab ‘n’ Go: Rumor has it that Rosie O’Donnell may be getting her own show on NBC. Oh the horror! How many shows does she have to leave in ruins before execs stop giving her all these opportunities?!? On a more positive note Pam Anderson’s new “reality” show begins Sunday, August 3rd on E!. I would love to see what goes on in that crazy world of hers. Halle Berry is suing a photo agency over photos taken of her baby girl in a private backyard. She refuses to sell her child’s pictures, how un-Hollywood of her, and is furious that the pics were taken. Model turned actress Rebecca Romijn and child actor turned adult actor Jerry O’Connell are expecting twin girls (this will be the 1st and 2nd child for both of them). Lindsay Lohan was apparently side-swept by a motorcycle while leaving a NYC club. But after a quick hospital visit all seems to be a-ok. The prognosis doesn’t seem to be as good for our favorite rehab hater, Amy Winehouse, who just landed herself back in the hospital due to a bad reaction to her medication…cough cough, yeah right!

100 Days and Counting:

Senator John McCain is continuing to gather support across the country. There was rumor that McCain would announce his VP pick…but so far no such luck. McCain did meet with the Dalai Lama to discuss the Beijing Olympics and to show his support for the release of Tibetan prisoners. And to clear up any medical drama…the small bit of skin removed from his right cheek is not a death sentence. After getting diagnosed with malignant melanoma back in 2000, the presidential hopeful gets routine checkups and biopsies.

Obama continued his international tour through Jordan and Israel. He even went to the Wailing Wall and left a prayer which was subsequently taken and reprinted in an Israeli newspaper…being a presidential candidate really has its perks :p Although I think that’s wrong and totally unholy here’s a copy of the note: http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2008/07/25/image4293447.jpg. He also gave a speech in Berlin, Germany to a small crowd of about 200,000 (McCain’s camp did criticize Obama for not visiting the wounded troops), met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and English Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

New York Mayor, Democrat turned Republican turned Independent, Michael Bloomberg announced that his endorsement is still up in the air. He likes both candidates on different issues and has yet to put his name and billions behind either of them. But he is putting his money behind another great cause. He’s joining fellow billionaire Bill Gates in dedicating $500M to help stop people around the world from smoking cigarettes.

What you didn’t register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I’m sure. www.rockthevote.com. T-Time did it and so should you!

Calisthenics:

In honor of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, sports/athletes are getting their own section this week. The Olympics are starting Friday, August 8th and the U.S. has some top athletes to lookout for. A few athletes you won’t be seeing are swimmer Jessica Hardy. She tested positive for some banned substance. Male gymnast Paul Hamm had to pull out of the games due to some serious injuries to his hands. And Shamed track star Marion Jones who is still in jail for lying to feds about taking performance enhancing drugs and a check-fraud scam is now asking President Bush to commute her sentence. Too bad for her there are about 2,300 pending pardon requests so I don’t know how high her chances are. Some other athletes you won’t be seeing at the games? The entire Iraqi team. The International Olympic Committee banned Iraq from the games after the country’s government disbanded its own Olympics committee. The IOC considered the Iraqi government’s actions a severe interference with sports. Unfortunately for the Iraqi athletes their country’s internal drama got in the way of their Olympic gold dreams.

The Tour de France, plagued with several doping scandals, crowned a new winner, and no it wasn’t Lance Armstrong for the 100th time (he’s too busy fondling Kate Hudson). Spain’s Carlos Sastre won the 23-day bike race that runs through France and other neighboring countries.

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! First there was killer spinach, then the tainted tomatoes but now it looks like jalapenos from Mexico are to blame for the latest salmonella outbreak. I’m all for getting your daily dose of veggies but all these food crises prove yet again that a diet should consist solely of Swedish Fish…you never here about the red, jelly fish killing people! R.I.P…everyone’s favorite Golden Girl, Estelle Getty, passed away at the age of 84 (http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/42/86/0000004286_20060919221138.jpg). But while some were passing in old age the FBI celebrated its 100th Birthday. My 2 obsessions, Google and Wikipedia, are about to battle. Google announced ‘Knol’ a new reference site where people can write about particular subjects they know, but unlike Wikipedia the authors will not be anonymous. But Google also has to fight a new competitor. A few former Google employees have just started their own search engine, Cuil, that they claim is more comprehensive than its predecessor. Blasphemy…I won’t hear of this! Obsessed with your cell phone? Only know how to communicated via text? Here’s your video of the week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX3ws6OnGuE.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! Christian Bale doesn’t only play a badass in movies…he is one in real life, and Google is continuing its world domination! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t

You can also check this out on my official blog at http://ttimeupdate.blogspot.com/.

T-Time Weekly News Update for the Week of July 14th-21st 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

Oh My I’m Seeing Stars:

Baby fever doesn’t even begin to explain what’s been spreading through Hollywood. The gods that are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally gave birth to the 2nd and 3rd coming with their twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban had their first child, daughter Sunday Rose. And Matthew McConaughey and girlfriend, model Camilla Alves welcomed their first son, Levi Alves to the world. But don’t worry cause a fresh new crop of celebrity babies is on the way. According to her former costar Victor Garber and a protruding belly, Jennifer Garner is 5 months pregnant with her 2nd child, and Naomi Watts is also pregnant with her 2nd child. Both actresses were super private about their first pregnancies so I doubt we’ll know anything till the babies are popped out!

The biggest headline after all the celeb babies has been the Madonna/A-Rod scandal. These are the “facts” that T-Time has managed to pull together. Madonna and Guy Richie are not getting divorced yet…but it wouldn’t come as a shock if that were announced within the year. Madonna and A-Rod are just friends who share a manager, Guy Oseary, and A-Rod has been seeking solace in his new friend Madge during this difficult time in his life. Alex’s wife Cynthia did not run off with Lenny Kravitz, another client of Guy Oseary, but has filed for divorce. On top of it all Madonna’s brother Chris Ciccone, who is probably already cut off, released a tell-all book about his sister’s life. And although he spills the beans on a lot of her deep, dark secrets he doesn’t think that there’s anything going on between the superstar and super athlete.

Britney Spears’ stock is looking up these days. Ms. Spears just shot a mini video that will be part of Madonna’s ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour. According to her record label she is currently in studio recording a new album…it’s nice to see that her people gave her all of 1 month to “fully” recover from her psychotic episode before forcing her back to work. And she finally settled her custody case with K-Fed (he gets sole legal and physical custody while she gets visitation rights). And to top it all off she showed up at a charity event almost looking like her old self (http://www.popcrunch.com/photos-britney-spears-generation-rescue-charity-event-hosted-by-jim-carrey-jenny-mccarthy/) . You go girl! I’m sorry I totally doubted your ability to ever be normal, let alone successful again!

Former supermodel Christy Brinkley has legally freed herself of husband #4 Peter Cook. After she caught him having an affair with his 18-year-old secretary a long and dramatic divorce ensued. Well she managed to prove to the court that he was a perv and she should get the kids. Comedians Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel called it quits after 5 years. After all those “I F*cked Matt/Ben” videos I really thought they would last. And Salma Hayek has called off her engagement to French billionaire/her baby daddy Francois-Henri Pinault.

The 2008 Emmy nominations were announced. The actual awards show will air September 21st. If you want to check out all the categories you can go here: http://cdn.emmys.tv/awards/2008pte/60thpte_noms.php. But for the majority of you who only care about the major categories here are the nominees (I’ve bolded my guesses for winners):

Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
James Spader, Boston Legal
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Charlie Sheen, Two And A Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Shake It to the Left, Shake It to the Right:

Senator Barack Obama has had quite the controversial week. Despite saying he wanted to keep his family private the Senator allowed his daughters to be interviewed by an Access Hollywood reporter during a family outing. After a media firestorm broke out he acknowledged that he regrets allowing the interview and will make sure to not do it again. The “New Yorker’ thought it would be funny to depict Obama and his wife encompassing all the stereotypes that have been plaguing them. The resulting cover and controversy proved that not everyone gets that level of humor. You can check out the image here: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2008/07/original.jpg. And after tons of pressure and criticism for his lack of experience Senator Obama has gone on a multi-country tour that includes France, Germany, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Afghanistan and possibly Iraq.

Senator John McCain is busy fighting a serious fight against the “New York Times”. The Times published an op-ed by Obama regarding the war in Iraq but refused to run one by McCain that was basically a response piece. Op-ed editor David Shipley’s excuse is that McCain’s piece did not offer enough of a solution to the war. Op-ed stands for opposite editorial, the opinion of the writer (not the editor), and if the Times believes in our right to free speech they should print McCain’s piece. McCain’s daughter Meghan has also been keeping busy gathering support for her dad’s campaign. She had lunch with ‘The Hills’ star Heidi Montag. I can only imagine how deep that conversation was. Want a fun political pick me up? Check out http://sendables.jibjab.com/?

Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow died at the young age of 53 after battling colon cancer for 3 years. Snow was a political commentator as well as a TV news anchor and radio host for Fox News. During his time as President Bush’s Press Secretary he had a very positive and lively relationship with the White House Pres Corps. He was highly respected as a professional and as a person. He is survived by his wife and 3 children.

What you didn’t register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I’m sure. www.rockthevote.com. T-Time did it and so should you!

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! Caffeine junkies are FREAKING out! Over 600 Starbucks across the country are shutting off their espresso makers and closing up shop. Now people will have to pay $2 instead of $6 for their coffee. Budweiser has sold out to a Belgian company for $52B. How do you say “Bud-Wei-Ser” in Dutch? Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza, won the Miss Universe title. That makes her the 5th Miss Venezuela to win the title…there’s definitely something in that water (and I want some!). And for the 2nd year in a row Miss America slipped and fell straight on her bum. I smell tons of hairspray and a conspiracy! It’s official. Jay Leno is leaving NBC and ‘The Tonight Show’ next May (Conan O’Brien is taking over), but where Leno will end up is still unknown. The last MLB All-Star game at Yankees Stadium was played after a red carpet parade down 6th Avenue in NYC. The league’s top players split into 2 teams, the American League and the National League, and the AL came out victorious after the longest All-Star game in history. The new iPhone 3G was released and is still sold out. The main differences are faster Internet and a GPS system…big woohoo. The mortgage crisis hit another low when the gov’t announced it would bail out home loan giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ‘The Who’ were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have been offered to go back on tour which could net them over $100M, but there’s one tiny glitch; lead singer Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend aren’t on speaking terms. The new Batman film, ‘The Dark Knight’, is beyond killing at the box office. In its opening weekend the movie has grossed over $155.3M beating out ‘Spiderman’ for the opening weekend record. Even though the folks at PETA can be a little crazy you gotta give ‘em props for this ad. Here’s your video of the week: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jokL4H3_4Q.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! T-Times are back in session! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t

T-Time Weekly News Update for the Week of June 24th–30th 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

*Now try not to cry, but T-Time will be out of commission for the next 2 weeks. My deepest apologies but even T needs some R&R. Hopefully you’ve learned to keep up with latest news or just try not to talk to anyone about anything important for a little while.

Celeb DuWop:

Now that it’s full blown summer and getting hot in herre (correct spelling…I Googled it) celeb couples are continuing to make headlines. Shortly after having his butt dumped by Anne Hathaway, Raffaello Follieri was arrested. His bond was set for $21M so he’s stuck in jail where he’ll have time to reflect on his failed romance and fake business ventures. What kind of a person lies about working for the Vatican?!? Jake Gyllenhaal has apparently moved in with Reese Witherspoon. Why Reese? What about T-Time?!? Divorce rumors have been dogging Madonna and Guy Ritchie for years, but they are at a fever pitch right now. Rumor has it Madonna enlisted Paul McCartney’s divorce lawyer and the Ritchies may have never signed a prenup. Guy has just flown into NYC to join his wife (who’s rehearsing for her upcoming tour) to try to make a last ditch effort and save the marriage. Wish ‘em luck! A couple that doesn’t need any luck is Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson (Elle Macpherson’s ex). The couple of nearly a year just got engaged. A surprise celeb couple revelation…Enrique Iglesias admitted that he and Anna Kournikova were once married but are now divorced. Huh? How? When? I knew they were dating, but married AND divorced? This would make it Anna’s 2nd secret marriage. The gods that are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated $1M to kids affected by the war in Iraq (both in Iraq and the US). Yeah you’re perfect…we get it!

Musicians from around the world gathered in London’s Hyde Park to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday with a monster tribute concert for his 46664 Fund which helps raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Amy Winehouse was one of the main performers and barely made it through her sets. But you gotta give her props for even showing up and not getting into any fights like she did at this concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IN7yJWi21E. VH1 just aired the concert, but they’re repeating it like they repeat all the other shows so just search for ‘46664’ and set your DVR/TIVO. The concert is definitely worth seeing. It has everyone from Winehouse to Queen, Annie Lennox to Leona Lewis, U2’s Bono and the Edge to Josh Groban and many more plus you get a mini-history lesson throughout.

Is your favorite celeb not in love or facing heartbreak? Did he/she not perform at Nelson Mandela’s concert? Well maybe you’ll find them in this week’s celeb potpourri. Former ‘Saved By the Bell’ star Mario Lopez is so desperate for work he’s been promoting everything from Oscar Meyer wieners to M&M ice cream all over NYC. Hey…you can’t fault a man for trying to make an honest buck. Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke, is also desperate for work. Now that her once stable family has been ripped apart by reality TV, Brooke is starring in her own show on VH1 and offering herself up for work on her MySpace page (http://collect.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.showDetails&Band_Show_ID=34113845&friendid=17368671). Watch out world…Paris Hilton announced that she’s working on a 2nd album with the help of current boyfriend Benji Madden. Britney went to court to get overnight visitation rights with her sons and was victorious. The boys just spent the night at mom’s. One celeb mom who should probably not have her kid over is Heather Locklear. She has admitted herself into treatment (a.k.a. rehab) for anxiety and depression. If award shows are your thing you can check out the BET Awards list of winners here: http://www.bet.com/specials/betawards08/betawards-nominees/beta-winners. And for the first time ever, cause they’re trying to build excitement, the Emmy’s (Academy of Arts & Sciences) have announced the top 10 finalists for best drama and best comedy before the final nominees are chosen. Check out if your fave show made it to the top 10: http://cdn.emmys.tv/awards/2008pte/topten.php.

Elephants and Donkeys:

Once they were friends, then sworn enemies, and now they’re butt-buddies…Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have come together as one for the sake of the Democratic Party…they held a rally in Unity, New Hampshire (commence puking) to show their dual support. Obama even wrote a personal check of $4,600 to help pay off Clinton’s campaign debts and is asking his supporters to help her as well.

General Wesley Clark, a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, just got himself into some hot water with both campaigns. He called out Senator John McCain for not being qualified to be President cause, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president". Disclaimer…this is a general speaking! Not only is McCain’s campaign angry cause he has dedicated his life’s work (including serving in the navy, being a POW, and being a U.S. Senator) to this country, but also Obama’s campaign is defending McCain’s and other soldiers’ patriotism and denouncing Clark’s comments.

Evangelist Billy Graham has been a “spiritual adviser” (regardless of differing religions) for and met with all the sitting presidents since Harry Truman. It’s almost mandatory to meet with him if you want to be President. Obama visited with his son, Franklin, last week, and McCain met with both father and son this past Sunday. Both candidates are trying to win over the “religious” vote.

What you didn’t register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I’m sure. www.rockthevote.com. T-Time did it and so should you!

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! The US Supreme Court came down with some major decisions this past week. The Justices lifted Washington D.C.’s handgun ban reminding people of their Constitutional right to bear arms. The court also rejected the death penalty for child rapists stating, "the death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child." Murder…yes; child rape…no. I don’t know about you guys but I feel like there’s always some kind of natural disaster going on in our country. Iowa is still being ravaged from the floods (several levees have broken). Not wanting to be outshone California has gotten into the mix with its typical wildfires. All joking aside, the fires are devastating the famous Big Sur area. President Bush even declared a state of emergency in northern California on Saturday. You should donate to the Red Cross’s Emergency Fund at: https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=701328441&df_id=1086&1086.donation=form1. Spain beat Germany in Europe’s Soccer Championship Finals giving them their first championship title since 1964. Tennis’s top stars have been dropping like flies at Wimbledon. Sharapova, Roddick and Blake were all knocked out in early rounds. Tech genius Bill Gates officially retired from Microsoft. This video made the rounds a while ago but now it really hits home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5w3X4R8b4. I’m going to preface your video of the week with “Please Don’t Try This At Home”: http://gizmodo.com/5018924/girl-spins-on-escalator-thanks-to-physics-or-magic.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! Celebs are loving one another and so are Obama and Clinton. All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t